2 Plead Not Guilty in S.F. Giants Fan Attack

April 8: An image of Dodger Stadium beating victim Bryan Stow is shown on the scoreboard before a baseball game between the San Francisco Giants and the St. Louis Cardinals in San Francisco, Calif.
(Reuters)

LOS ANGELES – Two men accused of brutally beating a San Francisco Giants fan outside Dodger Stadium pleaded not guilty Wednesday even though prosecutors said they had made admissions in the case.

Louie Sanchez, 28, and Marvin Norwood, 30, entered their pleas during a brief arraignment to charges of mayhem and assault and battery in the March 31 attack of Bryan Stow, a Santa Cruz paramedic who suffered severe brain injuries and remains hospitalized.

Prosecutor Frank Santoro said in court he did not object to a motion to allow television cameras in the courtroom because the case is built on admissions, not witness identifications.

"The case is based on admissions from both of them," said Santoro, who provided no further details.

He said 20 witnesses had been asked to look at the men, but only one could positively identify Sanchez and no one recognized Norwood.

The motion involving cameras was denied after the defense objected.

Outside court, Sanchez's attorney, Gilbert Quinones, was asked about the claim that the defendants had made admissions.

"Making assertions and proving them are two different things," Quinones said.

During the hearing, several relatives looked on as Sanchez and Norwood stood about 30 feet apart. The men did not look at each other and spoke only through their lawyers. Relatives later declined to comment to the media.

Police have portrayed Sanchez as the leader of the March 31 assault on Stow as the culmination of an alleged rampage in which Sanchez and Norwood are accused of lashing out randomly at rival Giants fans at the stadium.

The district attorney's office also said it would not file charges against Dorene Sanchez, the sister of Louie Sanchez. She had been arrested on suspicion of being an accessory after the fact, but prosecutors found insufficient evidence against her.

Stow's family said on a website posting Monday that he was making slight improvements, and had been able to pucker his lips when his sister asked to give him a kiss and could lift his leg and arm slightly.